Technique Help

Alright ladies and gentlement I'm struggling and require assistance. I've read numerous articles, lots of forum posts, watched lots of videos on youtube, and have been practicing as I go along but my TIG welding is still struggling.

This youtube video is one that believe describes what problem is. He goes into amperage, arc length, and travel speed just very briefly. I've found longer videos but those can get quite boring after a while. I'm sure you've all watched some of them. And truts me I know the number one recomendation is practice practice practice. I'm trying but I don't exactly have access to an excess of material to just scrap by making bead after bead so I have to do projects the trial by fire method. I digress...

Okay, keep a close arc, set your amperage correctly (roughly an amp per .001"), and keep travel speed up. So I can dial in the amperage pretty close. If I get everything dialed in my travel speeds seem to be okay to start. Problem is my welds look very dull to the point I know I'm overheating. I know this because when I stop welding and lift my helmet the metal is red hot. I believe this is because I start to increase my arc gap.

The reason for this increase is what I'm looking for help on. The reason I keep increasing the arc gap is because when the puddle starts to form with a very close arc gap there is litteraly no way for me to add the filler metal without touching the tungsten directly with the filler metal or the increase in puddle sizing rising up to touch. I mean if you're supposed to keep a gap anywhere from 1/16" to 1/8" well that's the size of your filler metal? I don't see how that's supposed to work.

Please help. I'm open to any suggestions. I just finished off my taillight/license plate bracket for my motorcycle and I nearly scrapped the part from frustration. I spent 3 days after working making all the pieces and nearly ruin the damn thing after 2 hours of welding.

Well, the metal is supposed to be red hot if it's steel. If its a small piece of metal, the whole thing will get hot. There's a lot of possible issues here though. Hard to tell without pictures. But in short, you don't add the filler under the tungsten. You add it to the puddle in Front of the tungsten. That's why the torch is tilted 15 degrees or so so the heat will be directed forward and things will melt in front.

Hmmm, well maybe there's my problem? Not enough torch angle maybe? Because the weld puddle is practically never in front of the tungsten.

The thing with the red hot is that the whole part is glowing red-orange and this is what is making my weld grey and dull since there is no longer shield over hot steel. When I watch Jody's videos his parts, even thiner steel is never as hot looking as mine are. This is probably a direct result of my larger arc gaps.

The amp thing is really not that accurate...maybe for aluminum, but not for steel. Guess-timating that you are probably working with 1/8" steel or slightly thicker....use 70 amps or so and go slower. The info to weld hot and fast is a little off. IF hot and fast is used for thicker materials you will have some issues. The dulling may be from lack of metal prep, filler metal selection, or problem with too low/much of gas flow rate.

Compare your travel speed with the videos. If you are going slower you will need to use less amperage. Also one technique that helps is to pull back just a little and pause when adding the filler, then pull back the filler and move in close with the torch to wash the puddle forward. These movements are all very small on the order of .030" to .060", but they do make a difference. Keep your initial arc length about the diameter of the tungsten you are using. You will want to do the dip and pause around 1 second intervals and move ahead each time about a quarter to half the diameter of the puddle. That way you still have some molten metal and some solid. Try to keep the puddle roughly the same size. If it starts to sink below the surface, you need to add a little more rod with each dip. If it gets too tall and close to the tungsten, add a little less each time. Make small changes and watch what the effect is, don't try to to a huge correction or you will just be chasing things all over. There are a lot of videos out there that could use some editing, but since you have no one to look over your shoulder and provide real time feedback, I would advise that you watch lots of them. Look for not only the things that are good, but look for some of the problems you are having. You can even learn from some of the really bad welding videos out there. Compare them to the good ones and try to figure out what the person's problem is. Most new welders I have taught mainly have issues with travel speed and arc length. Getting a good cadence is pretty simple to master. Holding arc length can be tricky. Make sure you have a good prop and do not get into a bind. Taking lots of dry runs without power or helmet and watching the height of the tungsten will help with that. You need to be as steady as you can. I look for being able to control the motion of the tip of the tungsten to plus or minus .030" at all times, much less if possible. That just takes practice. It's rather like writing and why I tell most people to hold the torch like a pencil. You want to control it with your fingertips, not swing it around like a club.

Good tips. ^^^^